PHILADELPHIA – Larry Robinson won five Stanley Cups in his first seven seasons in the NHL, then went the first six years of the 1980s without even getting another shot in the Finals, six years being like 60 in those years for the Canadiens.

“Oh, there’s no question that I doubted whether I’d ever win another one,” Robinson admitted this week. “That’s what made ’86 so special.”

In 1985-86, the Canadiens had finished seventh overall, and went into the playoffs with 10 rookies on the roster. First-overall Edmonton lost to Calgary in the second round on the Steve Smith gaffe. Eastern champion Philadelphia lost in Round One to the Rangers. Montreal picked its way through, beat Calgary in five to win the Cup, the final one Robinson, then 35, would win as a player.

One of the Montreal rookies was named Patrick Roy. Another was called Claude Lemieux, who would score the second- round, Game 7 OT goal against Hartford’s Mike Liut that allowed the Canadiens to keep going that spring.

“When you’re young, you don’t know; you think there are always going to be chances to win,” Lemieux said during this week of preparation for the Flyers. “When you’re young, you always think, ‘I’ll be back.’ “

Of all of the great athletes who have competed for the Stanley Cup over the last 15 years, the terminator Lemieux has been back more than any. In 15 years, Lemieux has never missed the playoffs. In those 15 years, Lemieux has made it to the Final Four nine times, this representing the sixth time in the last seven years he has made it to the conference finals. The Oilers never made it to the Final Four six times in seven years.

“To me, there’s nothing worse than losing in the conference finals,” Lemieux said. “You commit so much of yourself to get here, all of the sacrifices during the season, all of the sacrifices during the first two rounds. You know that there are only two weeks left to go one more round; you can taste it once you get here.

“The message I’ve been trying to get across this week to our younger players is that when you get this far you have to be willing to sacrifice everything to take the next step, because there are no guarantees about getting back.”

Fifteen years in the league, 15 years in the playoffs for Lemieux. Only three players in NHL history have had longer careers without ever missing the postseason. Jean Beliveau and Bob Gainey both went sweet 16 in Montreal. Mr. Robinson went 17-and-out with Montreal, then hit the trifecta in L.A., thus leaving the ice in 1992 with 20-20 hindsight.

Remember Scott Stevens’ series-defining violent hit on Slava Kozlov in Game 2 of the 1995 Finals? Of course you do. But have you ever seen the one Robinson laid on Gary Dornhoefer in Game 2 to key the sweep of the 1976 Finals, the one that caught the Flyer forward so perfectly and with so much force as he skated down the wing that the match at the Spectrum had to be delayed so that the boards could be repaired?

Robinson controlled games from the blue line by will, talent and force. He scared people; dominated physically the way few men have been able to from the defense, though playing in a remarkably fertile era that featured Bobby Orr, Denis Potvin, Brad Park, Borje Salming and Big Three partners Serge Savard and Guy Lapointe, No. 19 won only two Norris Trophies.

Stevens has never won one, prompting the debate whether it is he, Park, Salming or Mark Howe who deserves the distinction as the best NHL defenseman never to have be awarded the Norris. But while neither Park nor Howe ever won the Cup, either, the captain now has his second in his sights the way he had Kozlov in his sights five years ago, the way he had Tomas Kaberle and Kevyn Adams in his sights one week ago.

To a large degree, Derien Hatcher established a violent, physical tone from the blue line for champion Dallas last year. The Stars’ captain did it at age 28, and with a 6-5, 230-pound body to deliver the message. At age 36, and with a body that may be granite but is still only 6-1, 215, Stevens is establishing that kind of tone right now. He punishes people. It is impossible to recall a 36-year-old dominating the playoffs the way Stevens is dominating right now.

The Devils are four wins away from the Finals. The tone has been set by Stevens and by Lemieux. The tone has been set by Robinson, who has a team of warriors, who has a team that should win this round and advance into June.